The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Fragaria×ananassa Duchense (strawberry) grown as a fruiting herbaceous perennial for commercial agriculture. Strawberries are typically consumed both fresh and in a number of processed products.
The new and distinct variety of strawberry (Fragaria×ananassa Duchense) originated from the hand pollinated cross of NCH 87-22 (unpatented)×Earliglow (unpatented) made in Beltsville, Md., in 1991.
Seeds from this hand pollination were germinated in winter 1991/1992 and the resulting seedlings established at Salisbury, N.C., in spring 1992. When the seedlings fruited in spring 1993, an elite genotype designated NCS 93-05 was selected for its early ripening large size attractive high quality fruit by James R. Ballington. Runner plants of the original plant of NCS 93-05 were rooted in plug trays under intermittent mist in Raleigh, N.C., following the 1993 fruiting season, and then transplanted to a field nursery at Salisbury, N.C., for production of additional plants. In summer, 1994, runner plants from the plants established in the field nursery were rooted in plug trays under intermittent mist in Raleigh, N.C., and then transplanted into duplicate annual hill culture (plasticulture) plot trials at Castle Hayne, Reidsville and Fletcher, N.C., in late summer for evaluation of fruit in spring 1995. These trials were also established at the three locations in late summer 1995 and 1996 for evaluation in 1996 and 1997 respectively. Based on its performance in these initial trials, NCS 93-05 was propagated again from runner plants in plug trays under intermittent mist in Raleigh, N.C., and established in a replicated annual hill culture trial at Fletcher, N.C., in late summer 1998, for evaluation in spring 1999, and Charleston, S.C., in late summer 2001, for evaluation in spring 2002. The results from these trials demonstrated that NCS 93-05 had potential as a new cultivar. In 2001 NCS 93-05 was meristemmed in in-vitro culture at Raleigh, N.C., followed by virus testing, which determined that the meristemmed plants were free of known viruses. The meristemmed plants were also compared to original runner derived plants in field trials and were determined to be true to type phenotypically in both plant and fruit. Therefore the remaining trials, from 2004-2006, and all in the annual hill culture production system, were planted with runner plants derived from the virus tested meristem derived plants. These included replicated trials at Castle Hayne, Reidsville, and Fletcher, N.C., and Beltsville and Queenstown, Md. They also included grower trials at King's Mountain, Seven Springs, and Sanford, N.C., and Chambersburg, Pa. Based on performance in these replicated and grower trials it was determined that NCS 93-05 was worthy of release as a new strawberry cultivar for the southeastern USA. Plants and fruit of this new variety have remained true to type through successive cycles of asexual propagation by in-vitro multiplication following meristemming at Raleigh, N.C., and from runner plants from in-vivo plants in the field at Raleigh, Jackson Springs, Salisbury, and Laurel Springs, N.C. This new variety has been named the ‘Galletta’ cultivar.